Administrative divisions of Ukraine
Ukraine is divided into several levels of territorial entities. On the first level there are 23 regions: 20 oblasts, one autonomous republic, and two "cities with special status". Since the earlier in 2014, Ukraine's control of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol is disputed. The administrative division in Ukraine was directly inherited (grandfathered) from the local republican administration of the Soviet Union, the , and has not changed significantly since the middle of the 20th century. It is somewhat complex as beside having several levels of a territorial subdivision, it also has a classification for various populated places, particularly cities. General characteristics In Ukraine the term denotes a primary . Under the and into the 1920s, Ukraine was divided between several . The term oblast itself was first introduced in 1932 by when the Ukrainian SSR was divided into seven oblasts replacing the previous subdivision system based on and encompassing 406 raions (districts). The first oblasts were Vinnytsia Oblast, Kiev Oblast, Odessa Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, and Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Soon after that in the summer of 1932 Donetsk Oblast was formed out of eastern parts of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts; in the fall of 1932 Chernihiv Oblast was formed on the border of Kiev and Kharkiv oblasts. Between 1935-1938 there existed several newly created and self-governed special border okrugs located along the western border of the in Ukraine and Belarus. Upon liquidation of the okrugs in 1937-38 Kiev, Vinnytsia, Odessa, and Kharkiv oblasts were each split into four additional oblasts (Zhytomyr Oblast, Kamianets-Podilsky Oblast (later - Khmelnytsky), Poltava Oblast). Just before the , the was split into Stalino Oblast and Voroshylovhrad Oblast and the Kirovohrad Oblast. Upon the occupation of Ukraine by the the territory was split between , and and carried out a completely different administrative division, see Reichskommissariat Ukraine. In 1954, the was from the to the Ukrainian SSR; parts of the surrounding oblasts were incorporated into the Cherkasy Oblast. In 1959, was merged with Lviv Oblast. Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their respective s, which are also the largest and most developed city in a given region. Each region generally consists of about one to two million of people, ranging anywhere from as low as 904,000 in Chernivtsi Oblast to 4.4 million in the eastern oblast of Donetsk. Each oblast is generally subdivided into about 20 raions (mean average, can range anywhere from 11 in Chernivtsi to 27 in Kharkiv and Vinnytsia Oblasts). Although Kiev is the nation's capital and its own administrative region, the city also serves as the administrative center for Kiev Oblast. The oblast entirely surrounds the city, making it an enclave. In addition, Kiev also serves as the administrative center for the oblast's (district). is also administratively separate from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, retaining its special status from Soviet times as closed city, serving as a base for the former . The city was home to the Ukrainian Navy as well as the Russian Black Sea Fleet, although since the Crimean crisis, both Crimea and Sevastopol were incorporated into Russia as federal subjects, a move declared illegal by both the Ukrainian government and a majority of the international community. Autonomous republic The Autonomous Republic of Crimea, formerly the Crimean Oblast of the Ukrainian SSR, geographically encompasses the major portion of the Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine. Its capital is . The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is the only region within Ukraine that possesses its own constitution. On March 16, 2014, after the occupation of Crimea by the Russian military, a referendum on joining the Russian Federation was conducted. A majority of voters supported the measure. On March 21, 2014, the Russian Duma voted to annex Crimea as a subject into the Russian Federation. The Ukrainian government does not recognize the referendum or annexation of Crimea as legitimate. On March 27, the UN General Assembly passed by 100 to 11 votes, recognizing the referendum as invalid and denying any legal change in the status of Crimea and Sevastopol. Oblasts An oblast (Ukrainian: область), in English referred to as a region, refers to one of Ukraine's 20 primary administrative units. Ukraine is a unitary state, thus, the regions do not have much legal scope of competence other than that which is established in the Ukrainian Constitution and by law. Articles 140-146 of Chapter XI of the constitution deal directly with local authorities and their competency. Each of these entities are further subdivided into raions (districts), ranging in number from 11 to 27 per entity (Kiev is divided into ten, while Sevastopol only has four). Cities with special status Two cities carry special status: the city of Kiev which is the capital of Ukraine and the city of . Following the 2014 Crimean crisis, Sevastopol is controlled by Russia and is incorporated as a . It is recognized as a part of Ukraine by most of the international community. Category:Ukraine (Altverse)